March 27 WCQ vs. Jamaica location?

[Vasi]

I don't understand why people are freaking out about opposing fans in the stands. Freaking out might be a strong word. But this is a new team and a new age for our men's national team. The Hamilton game sold out in hours. This team has gotten in to the mainstream consciousness. It's popular to be a canmnt fan. I know this might be hard to believe but it is true. I know a lot of die hard soccer fans who before this run did not care about the mens team. Now they cant stop talking about them. 

I know there is a lot of trauma from years past, which will be hard for some to get over. But there will be no issue to get a sea of red in toronto for the Jamaica game. There will be some. But this game if played in Toronto will sell out in the presale in hours. This game will be a coronation event. No matter who we play!

The ONLY way this is not played in Toronto is of they can't get 100% capacity. Then you look at elsewhere. 

[JamboAl]

1 hour ago, Obinna said:

I was thinking it had to be BMO, despite the large Jamaican population. Toronto and BMO have become the spiritual home for this national team. 

That said, for selfish reasons I would be thrilled if those Vancouver rumours came true. It's a very large market that hasn't had a game yet. I know Montreal hasn't either, but there's been 4 Ontario games thus far which all are within driving distance, while Lower Mainland folks have had 2 Edmonton games, which is a bigger ask travel wise and one was a week day, so not really the same ting. 

Anyways, where ever it ends up is going to be a party! The nations Capital would be a good shout too by the way, would kind of be symbolic to wrap up qualifying there and very easy access for Montreal folks. 

On behalf of any supporter in the nation’s capital, NO!  The sit down and keep quiet crowd is too numerous.

[Califax]

I’d wager the Canadians who felt more Jamaican when Canada wasn’t good, will feel more Canadian now that Jamaica isn’t good. 
 

As for the ones who don’t- As pointed out above - they won’t have a leisurely 5 week window to buy tickets. 

 

Edited February 6, 2022 by Califax

[BearcatSA]

2 hours ago, Shway said:

It's sad because BC place has the potential to be our undisputed best stadium in the country with a simple investment in the surface. But the reality is we aren’t playing with League 1, B3, and NCAA level players as our key guys and the standards have to adjust to what they experience. 

So no more matches in Edmonton and Hamilton on Field Turf?  BC Place has a brand new synthetic surface now in.

 

[Shway]

36 minutes ago, Califax said:

I’d wager the Canadians who felt more Jamaican when Canada wasn’t good, will feel more Canadian now that Jamaica isn’t good. 
 

As for the ones who don’t- As pointed out above - they won’t have a leisurely 5 week window to buy tickets. 

 

Lol I don’t think it works like that. As Jamaican as I am, I’m a proud Canadian. But as proud Canadian as I am, I’m proud of my background. 

Im sure a lot of our guys would share my sentiment. 

 

[TGAA_Star]

1 hour ago, JAVIERF said:

The game has to be play far out of reach of Jamaican population that's wise sense.   To the sages and street wise in my opinion the match has to be played in Quebec City or Montreal.   Or in any other option in Vancouver.  But I prefer Montreal for logistics.  Allez aussi !!!  Attention mesdames et monsieurs 

Attention, mesdames et messieurs
Dans un instant on va commencer
Installez-vous dans votre fauteuil bien gentiment
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, partez, tous les projecteurs vont s'allumer
Et tous les acteurs vont s'animer en même temps

Attention, mesdames et messieurs.......Allez les rouges

I wouldn't mind Montréal 

[Shway]

2 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

So no more matches in Edmonton and Hamilton on Field Turf?  BC Place has a brand new synthetic surface now in.

Not my decision to make. My opinion is based on the players/coaching staff holding the say. In which they do favour Toronto due to the core of the squad. 

Edmonton was pure tactical, which paid off. So I’m not doubting that when that decision needs to be factored in, it will be taken into consideration. 

[Califax]

1 hour ago, Shway said:

Lol I don’t think it works like that. As Jamaican as I am, I’m a proud Canadian. But as proud Canadian as I am, I’m proud of my background. 

Im sure a lot of our guys would share my sentiment. 

Never said anything about pride. Everyone who’s has something to be proud of, is gonna be proud. Heritage will always play a huge role, and my post was tongue and cheek, but at its heart people wanna cheer for a winner. They also won’t go to an effort to associate with someone that isn’t. Same for English, Italian, Netherlands, whatever.
 

You ask a garden variety 2nd or 3rd generation Canadian last cycle with a passing interest in soccer, and they’d say their team is (fill in blank, not Canada). Too many people didn’t know we had a national team.

Tons of Canadians will switch over to Canada permanently as their team. Soccer is probably the last domino to fall in that regard. 

[jonovision]

There are no major travel reasons to favor one city over another in this window, nor really in the one just past. There's a case to be made for Vancouver, southern Ontario again, Quebec. I don't think limiting visiting fans needs to be a consideration now, and hopefully never again. 

If the players want Toronto, then fine, I guess. But that can't be the line of reasoning every time the men host a match, even important ones.

[SthMelbRed]

21 minutes ago, jonovision said:

There are no major travel reasons to favor one city over another in this window, nor really in the one just past. There's a case to be made for Vancouver, southern Ontario again, Quebec. I don't think limiting visiting fans needs to be a consideration now, and hopefully never again. 

If the players want Toronto, then fine, I guess. But that can't be the line of reasoning every time the men host a match, even important ones.

There are large segments that simply believe that the CMNT should exclusively play in Toronto. They'll find any excuse to justify that position. Currently, it's 'the players want it' and 'we shouldn't play on artificial surfaces'. They're not above lying about the actual difference in travel times in lame attempts to support their desire to turn the CMNT into a Toronto team. When they can't rely on those, they'll shift to something else. It's a very disingenuous conversation and willfully ignores the fact that the CSA has a responsibility to grow the game in the whole country, not just one city.

[Califax]

21 minutes ago, SthMelbRed said:

There are large segments that simply believe that the CMNT should exclusively play in Toronto. They'll find any excuse to justify that position. Currently, it's 'the players want it' and 'we shouldn't play on artificial surfaces'. They're not above lying about the actual difference in travel times in lame attempts to support their desire to turn the CMNT into a Toronto team. When they can't rely on those, they'll shift to something else. It's a very disingenuous conversation and willfully ignores the fact that the CSA has a responsibility to grow the game in the whole country, not just one city.

I I think there are segments, I don’t think they are large. I do think there are large segments of people for whom Toronto is their preference because it’s close. I’m one of em, but Saputo would be acceptable too. 

I think making the game accessible to the whole country versus touring the whole country are two different things. 

If I’m honest, I live in Halifax and it’s easier for me to get to the middle of the country, not the other side of it. 

But If there’s a rule that we have to go to every part of the country, then when is our game? Only having capacity for 10,000 Max shouldn’t matter. 

the reality is: ensuring a game is in every city isn’t realistic. There are other factors that matter way more.  Some in the west, some in the east, and people will get to the games that are close. 

at least most cities have a Professional team  in their town or within driving distance. That’s a huge development. 

Edited February 6, 2022 by Califax

[Shway]

13 minutes ago, SthMelbRed said:

There are large segments that simply believe that the CMNT should exclusively play in Toronto. They'll find any excuse to justify that position. Currently, it's 'the players want it' and 'we shouldn't play on artificial surfaces'. They're not above lying about the actual difference in travel times in lame attempts to support their desire to turn the CMNT into a Toronto team. When they can't rely on those, they'll shift to something else. It's a very disingenuous conversation and willfully ignores the fact that the CSA has a responsibility to grow the game in the whole country, not just one city.

I wish the people who believe this, can just go ahead an openly agree to this sentiment to draw the line. 
Because I haven't seen it....It's just the reality that hurts, which makes it a bitter pill to swallow?

I'm from Toronto and travelled to Edmonton, and had to cancel my overzealous Vancouver plans. That means I don't care where we are playing in the country - I'm showing up. No what I think about BMO being the best field for our team.

What are the facts?

- The coach who's family is based in Vancouver has stated that this can't be a tour, qualifying for the WC is most important. So players best interest are always first.
- 65% of the players are based in Europe affecting travel time. (David played 4 games in 11 days)
- 75% of the current player pool is from Ontario or GTA based. (Guys use the time when they are home to visit/see family & friends, which is also a valid excuse...probably the same way you would like to package a home visit with a game, right?)
- The WCQ have been 3 game windows of travelling back and forth with limited rest/recovery. 

This is all just fan conversation, as I'm sure we don't  influence the decisions. Because wherever the game is scheduled it will now sell out. 

It's always been about what the players want. 

[Shway]

Also I'm interested to know the stats of the where the registered users are based....it would explain the simple math.

[gigi riva]

7 hours ago, Shway said:

Not my decision to make. My opinion is based on the players/coaching staff holding the say. In which they do favour Toronto due to the core of the squad. 

Edmonton was pure tactical, which paid off. So I’m not doubting that when that decision needs to be factored in, it will be taken into consideration. 

Was Hamilton sort of Tactical also ?

 

[jonovision]

34 minutes ago, Shway said:

- 65% of the players are based in Europe affecting travel time. (David played 4 games in 11 days)

Not really an issue in a three game window where game 1 and 3 are away days.

[Redpunkfiddle]

There has been two months of commentary following the Hamilton decision from Herdman, CSA officials, and the One Soccer commentators who have these insider discussions, that the central Canada location provides advantages to the team related to travel. 

I don't have Herdman's reports, so can't speak to the merits. But I'm not sure why some comments are focused on the debate among supporters, or make it seem like there was no analysis put into travel, when a decision about location was made by the team.

I was surprised and skeptical of the decision to play outside in Jan on turf again. But I accepted that the choice had been made based on competitive advantage for the team- including travel impacts. 

Edited February 7, 2022 by Redpunkfiddle

[SoccMan]

1 hour ago, Califax said:

I I think there are segments, I don’t think they are large. I do think there are large segments of people for whom Toronto is their preference because it’s close. I’m one of em, but Saputo would be acceptable too. 

I think making the game accessible to the whole country versus touring the whole country are two different things. 

If I’m honest, I live in Halifax and it’s easier for me to get to the middle of the country, not the other side of it. 

But If there’s a rule that we have to go to every part of the country, then when is our game? Only having capacity for 10,000 Max shouldn’t matter. 

the reality is: ensuring a game is in every city isn’t realistic. There are other factors that matter way more.  Some in the west, some in the east, and people will get to the games that are close. 

at least most cities have a Professional team  in their town or within driving distance. That’s a huge development. 

I think if we take the travel argument for players then the best place to play this game would be in Montreal at the Olympic Stadium, because it’s the biggest stadium we have and can put over 50000 in there. However, the problem with that stadium is it has old turf that needs replacement and I can’t see them playing a game on that turf . Therefore, again taking the travel argument then the only place this game makes sense is BMO Field . Unfortunately assuming the capacity restrictions are fully lifted BMO Field  fits only 30000 and we know that twice that number can easily be sold for that game.

Edited February 7, 2022 by SoccMan

[Shway]

1 hour ago, gigi riva said:

Was Hamilton sort of Tactical also ?

Hamilton was based on availability no? 
BC Place wasn't available for reasons stated many times.  Maybe Westhills stadium in from of 6K?
Saputo isn't an option due to snowfall restrictions.
Commonwealth? 

I don't know if you're being facetious or sincerely asking a question that I likely no one here can have the answer too. 

[Shway]

1 hour ago, jonovision said:

Not really an issue in a three game window where game 1 and 3 are away days.

wait...doesn't that make it worse in comparison to the games in Edmonton for example. 

The boys were on a plane 5 times. Europe to Florida, Florida to Honduras, Honduras to Hamilton, Hamilton to El Salvador, El Salvador to ....Toronto to Europe. (Does Larin, Atiba, and Sam travel straight from Turkey to Florida, I wonder)

Surely location effects travel times no?

I'm probably the last person to be leading these convos as I don't care where the games are played. Can't stress that enough. I got money to travel to watch them play. I actually wanted them to spread the games across the country as reason to travel around Canada. I'm not against it, but I also don't neglect the logical decisions behind why BMO is first choice.

Edited February 7, 2022 by Shway

[jonovision]

47 minutes ago, Shway said:

wait...doesn't that make it worse in comparison to the games in Edmonton for example. 

The boys were on a plane 5 times. Europe to Florida, Florida to Honduras, Honduras to Hamilton, Hamilton to El Salvador, El Salvador to ....Toronto to Europe. (Does Larin, Atiba, and Sam travel straight from Turkey to Florida, I wonder)

Surely location effects travel times no?

I'm probably the last person to be leading these convos as I don't care where the games are played. Can't stress that enough. I got money to travel to watch them play. I actually wanted them to spread the games across the country as reason to travel around Canada. I'm not against it, but I also don't neglect the logical decisions behind why BMO is first choice.

The difference in Vancouver-Central America and Toronto-Central America flight times with chartered flights is pretty minimal. It's a grueling travel itinerary either way, but very similar.

[SthMelbRed]

38 minutes ago, Shway said:

wait...doesn't that make it worse in comparison to the games in Edmonton for example. 

The boys were on a plane 5 times. Europe to Florida, Florida to Honduras, Honduras to Hamilton, Hamilton to El Salvador, El Salvador to ....Toronto to Europe. (Does Larin, Atiba, and Sam travel straight from Turkey to Florida, I wonder)

Surely location effects travel times no?

I'm probably the last person to be leading these convos as I don't care where the games are played. Can't stress that enough. I got money to travel to watch them play. I actually wanted them to spread the games across the country as reason to travel around Canada. I'm not against it, but I also don't neglect the logical decisions behind why BMO is first choice.

The flight time from Europe to and from the games doesn't change based on where you play the home game in the middle. Effectively, everybody's flying into Costa Rica (or Florida, if they choose to gather there first), and out of Panama, regardless. The only affected flights are the ones from Costa Rica to the home venue and from the home venue to Panama. Assuming that the team's flying charter on those two legs, the actual difference in travel time is marginal....somewhere between an hour and 90 minutes each way, if you're choosing between Toronto and Vancouver for the home leg.

[SpursFlu]

I never understood the fear of away fans thing. I think some people on here have ptsd from the 90s or something 

[RJB]

13 hours ago, TOcanadafan said:

It’s also embarrassing that our National Stadium is shared with the Argos.

BMO is not our national stadium. We don't have one, hence this discussion. 

[Yoho]

So very Southern Ontarian to assume to get every competitive CMNT game that matters and the rest of Canada can have the meaningless NL and glamour friendlies.

You can shove it. You want to exclusively play in Toronto go play for TFC. You want to play for this country be a bit more malleable. It’s not just Southern Ontario that pays the bills.

if an extra hour travel time is the difference of going to Qatar then we were never really in it.

You want buy in from the entire country start including different area codes.

 

Edited February 7, 2022 by Yoho

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

1 hour ago, RJB said:

BMO is not our national stadium. We don't have one, hence this discussion. 

The project was referred to as the National Soccer Stadium when it was built for the U-20 World Cup in 2007.

https://www.bmofield.com/venue-information/history

...In its inaugural summer, BMO Field (known to FIFA as Canada’s National Soccer Stadium) hosted over 260,000 fans during 12 games as the main venue for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. On September 7th, 2007, Phil Collins and Genesis took the stage in front of a capacity crowd of more than 28,000 fans...